Where
else to begin but with the tried and true season-kickoff party
known as Larkfest on Sept. 25. WEXT-FM is behind this year·s
bookings, and national acts include soul screamer Eli ·Paperboy·
Reed, ex-Spin Doctors man Chris Barron, and harmonious Brooklyn
duo Kaiser Cartel, while the Charlie Watts Riots and Sirsy
are among those representing the 518. The absence of a superstar
on this year·s bill is calculated; apparently the crowd
for Moby in 2009 was a bit more than Lark Street could handle.
If you want to see the bald-headed wonder do his thing, he·ll
headline a benefit for (and at) the Woodstock Farm Animal
Sanctuary, also Sept. 25.

The following
night (Sept. 26), New Jersey·s finest pay the Capital
Region a return visit. Not Springsteen·it·s
the Gaslight Anthem, who will bring songs from their anthemic
third record American Slang to Northern Lights.

September
ends with a bang, possibly a literal one, as the speaker-shredding
noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells pay a visit to Valentine·s
(Sept. 30) on a night off from their opening stint with LCD
Soundsystem. This one could be the year·s most conservative
booking: The level of media saturation these guys have enjoyed
since releasing Treats this April would suggest they
could fill a much larger room. It should be one of the sweatiest,
noisiest shows of the season.

On Oct.
1, one of the most intriguing artists of 2010, R&B (and
most everything else) singer Janelle Monae, brings her off-the-wall,
genre-bending ArchAndroid songs to life at Skidmore·s
Sports and Recreation Center.

A few
favorite frontwomen are back in new digs: J.P., Chrissie and
the Fairground Boys kick off the fall slate of pop events
at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on Oct. 6. The Chrissie in
question is one Ms. Hynde; here, she·s collaborating
with Welsh rocker J.P. Jones on a set of songs that recall
the pop splendor of early Pretenders. And Oct. 24 marks the
return of a former Sleater Kinney grrl when the Corin Tucker
Band visits Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton, Mass.

Janelle
Monae at Skidmore's Sports and Recreation Center.

A real
music festival for the times happens in Kingston Oct. 8-10.
The O Positive Festival is not only an art and music fest,
but also ·a health-care clinic for participating uninsured
artists, as well as a public health resource expo.·
Brilliant! And the music is great: Among the notable acts:
psych-rockers Hopewell; rising alt-country stars Phospho­rescent;
and the bass geek·s dream duo of Gail Ann Dorsey (David
Bowie) and Sara Lee (Gang of Four). If that last bit isn·t
worth the ticket price·which, by the way, is a suggested
donation·then what is?

If there·s
one red-letter date on the collective fall music calendar
it·s Oct. 9, which would have been John Lennon·s
70th birthday. Accordingly, that week is full of Lennon- and
Beatles-themed events, book-ended by tribute acts: Beatlemania
Again at the Linda (Oct. 2); and Twist and Shout at the Colonial
Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass.(Oct. 10). For the purists, Lennon·s
old skiffle group the Quarrymen will appear at the Egg (Oct.
6), paired with a preview screening of early-years Lennon
drama Nowhere Boy.

A red-letter
day for noise fans: Oct. 14, when Lightning Bolt and Dan Deacon
Ensemble pair up for an ear-blaster at Northern Lights.

These
bands are going on hiatus after their upcoming tours, so don·t
say you weren·t warned: the Black Crowes (Oct. 15,
Palace Theatre) and Dave Matthews Band (Nov. 5, Times Union
Center).

Too cool
for TV? The Max Weinberg Big Band plays Saratoga·s
Universal Preservation Hall on Oct. 15, a few weeks ahead
of Weinberg·s once (and future?) boss· new late-night
show.

Here are
a few more worth setting the alarm for: legendary songwriter-performer-you-name-it
Van Dyke Parks at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton,
Mass. (Oct. 1); Oscar-winner Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses
at the Linda (Oct. 17); scuzz-rock duo Jeff the Brotherhood
at Valentine·s (Oct. 24); unflappably chipper duo Matt
and Kim at Northern Lights on Halloween (Oct. 31); roots-rockers
the Alternate Routes with Australian duo the Kin at Jillian·s
(Nov. 5); the one and only Emmylou Harris at the Egg (Nov.
15); the unmistakable voice of John Waite at the Wood Theater
in Glens Falls (Nov. 18); the sadly Mary-less Peter Yarrow
and Noel Paul Stookey at Proctors (Nov. 19); the now Simone-less
Felice Brothers at Mass MoCA (Dec. 4)

Concerts,
under the direction of maestro David Alan Miller, take place
as noted at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, 273-0038;
the Palace Theatre, Albany, 465-3334; Zankel Music Center,
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, 465-4755, albanysymphony.com.
Call for times.

Sept.
24 (Cohoes): Sweet Nightingale, a program featuring soprano
Gene Marie Callahan, baritone C.F. Schwartz. Oct. 24 (Albany):
An Agreeable Musik at the City Tavern, a program of popular
period music.

Oct. 20-24:
11th Annual FilmColumbia Festival. Schedule to be announced
soon. Check Web site for details.

GE Theatre
at Proctors

432 State
St., Schenectady, 346-6204. Call for showtimes.

Ongoing
iWerks films: Dinosaurs Alive!, Molecules to the Max! 3D.
Oct. 9-10: It Came From Schenectady·s Proctorberfest
will include 2001: A Space Odyssey, the original version of
The Day the Earth Stood Still, an unrated director·s
cut of RoboCop, a tribute to goremeister Herschel Gordon Lewis
(yuck) and the regional premiere of The Human Centipede (double
yuck).

Sept.
24: Moolaadé. The opening film in a tribute to filmmaker
Ousmane Sembène is drama about female genital mutilation.
Oct. 1: Black Girl, Daily Heroism, The Making of Moolaadé.
Sembène celebration continues with, respectively, his
breakthrough film about an African woman working on the French
Riviera; a short film about African women in the 21st century;
and a ·making of· documentary. Oct. 8: Portrait
of the Cuban-American Artist as a Young New York Filmmaker.
Lecture and screenings with Hugo Perez. Oct. 15: The Black
Pirate. Douglas Fairbanks· Techinicolor swashbuckler.
Oct. 22: Häxan. Benjamin Christensen (Seven Footprints
to Satan) directed this lurid, fictionalized ·history·
of European witchcraft. Oct. 29: Dead of Night. Landmark 1945
horror anthology film from Britain, directed by four fine
Brit directors: Alberto Cavalcanti (Went the Day Well?), Charles
Chrichton (A Fish Called Wanda), Basil Dearden (Victim) and
Robert Hamer (Kind Hearts and Coronets). Hamer·s tale
of a demented ventriloquist is unforgettable. Nov. 5: The
Exiles, Summer Sun Winter Moon. Native American double feature.
Nov. 12: Araya. Stunning documentary ·tone poem·
by Margot Benacerra about a day in the life of some peasants
in 1950s Venezuela. Nov. 19: Ride With the Devil. Ang Lee·s
flop Civil War epic, starring Skeet Ulrich and Jewel. Dec.
3: Au Hasard, Balthazar. Robert Bresson·s brilliant
chronicle of a donkey·s life is one of the most heartbreaking
films you·ll ever see.

Oct. 4:
North By Northwest. Hitchcock·s ultimate chase film,
as Cary Grant flees from cops and spies by bus, plane and
the 20th Century Limited. With James Mason, Eva Marie Saint.
Oct. 25: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. With live ·shadow·
cast. Nov. 22: A Streetcar Named Desire. See the film in which
Marlon Brando changed screen acting. Nov. 29: Bonnie and Clyde.
Arthur Penn·s bloody gangster film reveals as much
about the 1960s as it does its ostensible subject, Depression
America. Dec. 13: Three Stooges Film Festival. Here·s
some holiday spirit for you: nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. Dec. 17: It·s
a Wonderful Life. Hear that bell? An angel just got its wings.
Dec. 20: A Christmas Story. Ralphie·s Christmas in
Depression-era Cleveland should hit home even harder this
year.

Proctors

Mainstage,
432 State St., Schenectady, 346-6204. Call for showtimes.

Sept.
26-27: Metropolis. The newly restored complete version of
Fritz Lang·s brilliant, insane science fiction epic
about the class war and sexy robots. Live organ score by Avery
Tunningley.

Various
locations in and around Williamstown, Mass., (413) 458-9700,
www.williamstownfilmfest.com

Oct. 15-24:
Schedule to be announced soon. See Web site for details.

Woodstock
Film Festival

Various
locations in and around Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Kingston. WFF
box office is at 13 Rock City Road, Woodstock, (845) 810-0131,
www.woodstockfilmfestival.com. Check Web site for schedule,
venue information and show times.

Sept.
29-Oct. 3. 11th Annual Woodstock Film Festival. Will feature
dozens of premieres and world premieres.

Through
Sept. 27: Works by Matthew Bartik, Mother Elisabeth Czwikla,
and A Touch of Color art students. Through Oct. 3: Reflections
on Water in American Painting. Ongoing: Arkell·s Inspiration:
The Marketing of Beech-Nut and Art for the People.

Ongoing:
Picturing Battle: Memories of War, Art of Thurlstrup, U.S.
Army Signal Corps and Steve Jordan. Also, Dewitt Clinton Falls:
Uniform of the New York National Guard.

New York
State Museum

Empire
State Plaza, Albany. 474-5877.

Through
Oct. 31: Focus on Nature XI. Through March 2011: Citizen Soldier.
Also, Wish You Were Here: New York State Photographed By You.
Also, Not Just Another Pretty Place: The Landscape of New
York. Ongoing: Beneath the City: An Archaeological Perspective
of Albany; Rescue Recovery Response·Phase II; and Windows
on New York.

Nicole Fiacco Gallery

506 Warren
St., Hudson, 828-5090.

Through
Oct. 16: Ken Polinskie: Nothing to Fear.

Norman
Rockwell Museum

Route
183, Stockbridge, Mass., (413) 298-4100.

Through
Oct. 31: A Day in the Life: Norman Rockwell·s Stockbridge
Studio. Also, William Stieg: Love and Laughter. Also, Rockwell
and the Movies. Through Nov. 27: Norman Rockwell and the Boy
Scouts.

Ongoing:
Born of Two Rivers: An Illustrated History of Waterford, New
York.

West Kortright
Centre

49 West
Kortright Road, East Meredith. (607) 278-5454.

Through
Oct. 23: 35/35.

Williams College Museum of Art

Williamstown,
Mass., (413) 597-2429.

Through
Oct. 31: Works As Progress/Works In Progress: Drawing in 18th
and 19th Century France. Through Nov. 28: Charles Prendergast:
In Search of ·Innocence.· Through Dec. 12: This
Girl Bends: Art and Feminism since 1960.